NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is an annual tournament to determine NCAA Division III national champion.
Current season, competition or edition: 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| No. of teams | 64 |
| Country | NCAA Division III (USA) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1) |
| TV partner(s) | CBS Sports Network |
| Official website | NCAA.com |
From 1996 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, the NCAA Division III men's basketball championship was held at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. The event had been hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the City of Salem. Since 2017, the tournament is a 64-team single-elimination tournament, with teams advancing from four regionals to the semifinals and final in Fort Wayne.
For 2013, as part of the celebration of the 75th NCAA Division I tournament, the championship games in both the NCAA Division II and Division III tournaments were played at Philips Arena, now known as State Farm Arena, in Atlanta.[1] From 2014 to 2018, the final game returned to Salem.[2] Currently, the Final Four is held in Fort Wayne, Indiana at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. For 2020 only, the national semifinals was to be played in Fort Wayne, but the championship game was to have returned to Atlanta, with the NCAA choosing to hold the championship games of both Divisions II and III as part of the festivities surrounding the men's Division I Final Four; however, the NCAA decided to call off the rest of the tournament.[3]
Wisconsin-Oshkosh is the reigning national champions.
Qualification
From 2020–21, a total of 64 bids are available for the tournament:
- 44 automatic bids, awarded to the champions of all Division III conferences.
- 20 at-large bids.
Changes from the 2020 tournament, ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are:
- The American Collegiate Athletic Association merged into the Capital Athletic Conference.
- The Atlantic East Conference, which began play in 2018–19 with seven members that all sponsor men's basketball, will receive its first automatic bid in the 2021 tournament.
Conference tournaments
Schools in italics are, as of the upcoming 2020–21 basketball season, no longer members of that specific conference.
Summary
- Source: [13]
- Notes
- Only the championship game was played in Atlanta. The semifinals were played at the then-traditional site of the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.
- Only the championship game would have been played in Atlanta. The semifinals would have been played at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Locations
- Reading, Pennsylvania 1975–1976
- Rock Island, Illinois 1977–1981
- Grand Rapids, Michigan 1982–1988
- Springfield, Ohio 1989–1992
- Buffalo, New York 1993–1995
- Salem, Virginia 1996-2018 (semifinals only in 2013)
- Atlanta 2013 (championship game only)
- Fort Wayne, Indiana 2019, 2021–
Championships, by team
Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.
| School | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| North Park | 5 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1987 |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 4 | 2004, 2005, 2010, 2015 |
| Wisconsin–Whitewater | 1984, 1989, 2012, 2014 | |
| Wisconsin–Platteville | 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999 | |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 2 | 2011, 2016 |
| Amherst | 2007, 2013 | |
| Calvin | 1992, 2000 | |
| Potsdam State | 1981, 1986 | |
| Scranton | 1976, 1983 | |
| Washington (MO) | 2008, 2009 | |
| Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 1 | 2019 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | 2018 | |
| Babson | 2017 | |
| Virginia Wesleyan | 2006 | |
| Williams | 2003 | |
| Otterbein | 2002 | |
| Catholic | 2001 | |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 1997 | |
| Rowan | 1996 | |
| Lebanon Valley | 1994 | |
| Ohio Northern | 1993 | |
| Rochester | 1990 | |
| Ohio Wesleyan | 1988 | |
| Wabash | 1982 | |
| Wittenberg | 1977 | |
| LeMoyne–Owen | 1975 |
Appearances, by team
- Programs with more than 20 appearances in the Division III tournament:
| Bids | School | Conference | First Bid | Most Recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Wittenberg | NCAC | 1975 | 2019 |
| 28 | Scranton | Landmark | 1975 | 2017 |
| 28 | Wooster | NCAC | 1978 | 2019 |
| 27 | Hope | MIAA | 1982 | 2018 |
| 25 | Franklin & Marshall | Centennial | 1975 | 2018 |
| 25 | Illinois Wesleyan | CCIW | 1984 | 2018 |
| 25 | Salem State | MASCAC | 1980 | 2019 |
| 23 | Christopher Newport | Capital | 1986 | 2019 |
| 21 | Calvin | MIAA | 1980 | 2017 |
| 21 | Washington–St. Louis | UAA | 1987 | 2018 |
| 21 | Wisconsin–Whitewater | WIAC | 1983 | 2017 |
References
- "Success paves way for 75th celebration" (Press release). NCAA. May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
- "Preliminary round sites announced for 2014, 2015 NCAA tournaments". NCAA. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- Kalsow comes through for Pointers - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
- Balenga leads Virginia Wesleyan to title - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
- Amherst notches first D-III basketball championship - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
- Washington University repeats as Division-III champion - ESPN
- Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers rally to beat Williams College for DIII title - ESPN
- St. Thomas pounds Wooster for NCAA Division III men's title - ESPN
- Wisconsin-Whitewater wins D-III men's hoops crown - ESPN
- 'Willy stuff' helps Amherst to Division III national title
- "It's a family tradition at Whitewater; KJ Evans earns MOP, follows in uncle's footsteps". NCAA. NCAA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- "Division III Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
| NCAA | | |
|---|---|---|
| Division I | ||
| Division II | ||
| Division III | ||
| Single-division sports and championships | ||
Events listed in italics have been discontinued. | ||